The Radiant Dawn
by SoyaCat
Summary: The Rakkor tribe is an unforgiving place for any child. It's a constant fight to live on Mount Targon and only the fittest are allowed to survive. Leona was trained, as a child, to enjoy war and fighting but she never grew to love it as much as her other peers. But as the Rite of Korr approaches in her sixteenth year her struggle with her ideals becomes very real.
1. Prologue

**Prologue – The Radiant Dawn**

"Leona! It's cold, you must wear your cloak correctly or you are going to freeze." Her mother told her as she closed the clasps of the cloak. "Leona, are you listening to me?" Her mother sighed as she looked at her daughter, whose eyes were trained on the sky above.

The child furrowed her brows feeling somewhat strange. Her mother had always talked about the constant cold but she had never felt it as much as she described. Despite the biting winds that howled through the village she was always quite warm.

"Leona." Her mother's voice held warning as she finally looked down at her mother's concerned face and frowned.

"But Ma," she protested, "I don't feel cold. I don't understand why I have to wear something like this." She tugged tightly on the inside of her cloak. It was made of a thick hide with soft fur lining the inside of the coat. It was heavy and it restricted her movements. She didn't like it one bit.

Her mother sighed, "I don't want you to get sick," she began, "I'm used to this cold. You however, are not, understand?"

Leona's frown didn't move from her face; instead, she pointed a finger at some patrolling guards. "Are they used to the cold as well? I don't want to wear this!" She whined. "I want to wear that!" Leona pointed at the guard's uniform.

Her mother chuckled and brushed some stray red hairs away from her face. "You need to train to earn that kind of armor, my child. You have just begun your training and your exercises."

Leona furrowed her brow and shifted in her warm coat. "But I want to wear it now!" She pouted, "I'm old enough. I can fight! I've fought nearly all the boys in the village!"

"Oh, I know you have." Her mother laughed softly. "But you are only four, my dear child, one day you will be able to wear that armor, but as for now you are to wear _this_ kind of armor. It will protect you from the cold." She flipped the hood up onto the child's head and then adjusted the cloak on her small body.

Leona looked on at the guards before trying to drag her mother over so that she could get a better look. "Can I go see?" She tugged her mother's sleeve.

"Perhaps, another time, child." Her mother smiled gently before a great horn rang through the village. Leona had always heard the horn every year and she knew what it meant. Leona frowned again.

"Do I have to go this time, Ma?" Leona tugged at her mother again. Her mother looked down at her and swooped her up in single motion and smiled.

"Yes, love, you do. You must learn what it means to be part of the village." She said as she started to walk towards the arena. Leona looked at the barred fence, the jagged iron pillars and felt her stomach turn into knots. She hated this time of year and she had hoped that the village elders would forget this year.

"I don't want to see it." She admitted quietly. Her mother gave her a stern look which made her shrink into her mother's shoulder.

"Leona, one day you will not have me or your father; one day you will have to fight for yourself. You must learn while you can. Do you understand? The Rite of Korr is an essential path every warrior must take. One day you will understand."

"What does essential mean?"

Her mother adjusted her grip and pushed back her red hair, knocking down her hood. She could hear the loud sounds of the cheering in the back but she kept her eyes on her mother waiting for her explanation.

"Essential means something that it is very important." She answered, gently smiling.

"Did you do it then?" Leona asked craning her neck to see the first couple contestants.

"Yes, child, I did."

Leona's eyebrows furrowed once again. "Why do we have to do this?"

Her mother was quiet for a moment and in that moment Leona thought she had won the argument. But when she looked at her mother with her victorious eyes she was met with ones that were sad. She couldn't comprehend what it was or what had made her so sad but Leona turned her gaze and looked over at the arena just as the elder yelled to begin the fight.

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Author's Note

Hey guys! I hope you've enjoyed this one chapter! More to come soon!  
Kudos to my housemate who has taken time to read this and edit :)

Please Review! Till next time!

xSC


	2. Chapter 1

**T rating is for violence! Please read at your own discretion.**

 **ChickenChops:** Thank you so much for reviewing! I definitely hope it will be a great story!

 **Cathlock:** When you say 'Solaire', did you mean the Solari? I will mention them soon, patience ;) And thank you for reviewing!

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Leona was seven. She was finally seven which meant that she would be leaving home to train to be a proper warrior. They were going to teach her how to fight properly like one of them. It was all she wanted to be.

The image of the Rakkor warriors with their armor, spears and shields excited her. She wanted to be just like them one day. She had watched the Rite for seven years now, and it didn't seem too bad. The more she fought the more she liked the feeling of standing on top of a boy who had been taunting her moments ago.

It couldn't be more different than that, she thought.

Leona pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She didn't have to worry about that; sixteen was a long way to go. She was going away to learn how to fight and she couldn't be more excited.

The boys she had fought tended to punch and shove while she tended to pull, scratch, and grab. She lost a lot of fights that way, but still won many fights as well. Her mother said it was because she was fast.

"Ready for you first day?" Her mother pulled her out of her thoughts and held a cloak in her hand. "You won't be needing this."

Leona smiled brightly, more than happy to finally rid herself of her the thick furred cloak. There was nothing to restrict her now. She would be faster, light as a feather.

"I hope you're ready. We won't be seeing you for a long time." Her father crossed his arms, a proud smile pulling onto his face. Her mother, on the other hand, had a more serious expression. Her lips were pressed thinly into a small smile. Her mother only smiled like that when she didn't like something.

Her father laid his hand on her shoulder and looked at her expectantly. "Remember what I've taught you."

"Never retreat. Never surrender, honor and patience," she listed the words easily. The words had been drilled in her head every time she had made a mistake of doing something too fast, or when she wanted to give up.

Her father ruffled her hair. "Good," he said in a quietly. "Training is not going to be easy. But we know you can do it, Leona. You're fighter. Just remember what we taught you. Remember my words. Say them again."

"Never retreat. Never surrender. Honor and patience." They said together. Her father messed up her hair again.

Her mother knelt and kissed the top of her head. "Be careful out there. You hear me?" Her mother's voice slightly shook as she adjusted her tunic. Leona could see hesitation in her mother's actions as she pulled down the sleeves over her wrists and slowly adjusted her shirt.

Leona had begun squirming with impatience as her mother moved to fixing her leggings. Her mother softly laughed and tucked some hair behind Leona's ears.

"Alight, alright, off you go then." Leona felt her mother give her tight squeeze and as Leona started towards the door she heard her mother call her back. "I love you, Leona."

Leona glanced back, smiling. "I love you, Mom and Dad."

She burst from her home and out into the snow with the warmth of her home still clinging to her. She ran to the training grounds and found that even though she was moving her joints had stiffened considerably and that her teeth had begun to chatter.

She stiffened her jaw and forced herself to stop as she approached a group of other children like her. They huddled around each other to keep warm and Leona did the same. She squeezed herself in and looked around. She knew all of them. Some of them she had beaten and others had beaten her.

Leona could hear them murmuring with anticipation and nervousness. All Leona had ever heard was that training was going to be hard, but no one would ever tell that what the training consisted of. That made Leona a little anxious but it couldn't be so terrible, right? She found herself fidgeting.

She rubbed her arms in a feeble attempt to warm them.

"What do you think we'll learn?" She heard one of the girls ask. Leona could hear her voice shake slightly from shivering.

"I don't know. Maybe we'll get out of this cold." It was a boy this time and most of them snorted at the remark, even Leona. She had not come out here just to get out of this cold. She was going to be like her mother, she was going to be like the Rakorr warriors. She was going to brave this cold.

"Trainees!"

They looked up and saw a man lightly jogging towards them, leading a small group behind him. It took no time for all of them to stop in front of the children. Leona felt her chest slightly tighten as she looked at all of them.

They all dressed in the traditional armor: a breastplate, a leather belt, leather straps that hung loosely over their thighs, and a navy blue cloak that stretched to the feet. The only difference, it seemed, was the colour of their tunics under their armor.

Leona eyes were trained on one female warrior standing at the front. She had dark brown hair that was loosely braided, her body slightly scarred from either training or battle. Her eyes were steeled and tough. She looked like she could beat anyone who got in her way.

That was going to be her one day, Leona thought.

"My name is Captain Jagen, and you will address me as 'Captain' or 'sir." He introduced shortly. He was the same as the others, but his tunic was white. His hair was cropped short and he looked like Leona's father, though not quite as old.

"These are my men," he continued. "They will be your instructors. You will listen to us at all times, and you will do as you are told. Am I understood?"

Their staggered answers made his frown deepen. His jaw tightened. "I asked you a question, trainees," he hissed through gritted teeth. "You will answer at once, as one and you will answer 'yes, sir'. So I ask you again: am – I – understood?"

The stammered, "Y-yes, sir!" they shouted.

Leona didn't quite understand what this was about. They were just supposed to train her to fight. She was supposed to wrestle down with a partner like she and her father did. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen.

"Get into lines, now! I want five rows of ten!" He barked loudly. Leona flinched. "Now! _Move!_ "

They tried to get into place without bumping into one another but it didn't seem to work. Their instructors quickly descended onto them, revealing long staffs in their hands. They shoved them and used their staffs to hit them into place.

Leona quickly moved, pushing past some of the children before she felt a sharp pain spike up her back. She whirled around and saw one of the instructors, staff in hand.

"We don't have all day, move it!" He snapped at her. She glared at him. She _had_ been moving, until he had hit her. She had done nothing to deserve her punishment. This was unfair and he knew it. The instructor eyed her and raised his staff.

Leona braced herself and narrowed her eyes. She wasn't afraid; only little kids were afraid.

It took a second before she felt a stinging pain shoot up her face as she fell into the snow. The cold bit into the palms of her hands as she fell onto the ground.

"Get with it. We don't have time to play."

Leona steadily got up and snarled at the instructor who had hit her. Never surrender, never retreat, that's what her father had taught her.

They weren't supposed to hit them. They were supposed to train them to become warriors.

Her frame shook in the cold but she dared not chatter her teeth. The instructor didn't miss a beat. He gripped her shoulder roughly and shoved her forward.

"We have one, Captain."

The captain strode towards her and grabbed her. She ripped her arm away, unsure what was happening. They weren't allowed to hit her. Surely, she wasn't supposed to be the one in trouble. The captain looked at her, his eyes black and cold as if they could absorb everything he saw.

She immediately wanted to shrink away. Everything seemed colder and when he grabbed her the second time she felt him drag her forward. She was handed over to another instructor.

"Take three paces forward, trainees." She heard the captain behind her order. She heard the others shuffle forward but as she turned she felt a wooden pillar slam into her chest. Rough ropes were tightly tied around her wrists. Leona hissed and looked at the instructors in front of her.

"What's going to happen?" She asked but they didn't answer her. Whatever it was, Leona could feel in her stomach that it wasn't going to be good. Her gut knotted and she grunted, fighting against the thick ropes, hoping to slip out of them, but she couldn't.

Leona pulled against the pillar, hoping to maybe loosen it from the ground, but she knew it was going to be impossible. Leona's eyes flickered frantically from one face to the other. She couldn't tell if she was shaking because she was scared or if she was now extremely cold. What was happening? Her heart raced, threatening to come out of her mouth.

She heard Captain Jagen's voice. "I am here to prepare you for the Rite of Korr which will take place in your sixteenth year. I'm sure you're all familiar with the Rite. And because I am preparing you for combat I will not tolerate any disobedience."

"I didn't do anything!" Leona protested, instantly, but she was ignored. She hadn't disobeyed anything! She had been getting in line like everyone else. She was doing what she was told. There was no reason why she was going to be punished.

Leona craned her neck over her shoulder and tried to see the captain but her hair was in the way and she couldn't see. What was going to happen? Her hands gripped tightly together, nervously.

She could hardly see the captain behind her but suddenly he was next to her. "Don't scream and don't move." His voice was even.

There was no warning after that. She felt a strike on her back. Leona flinched away from the sting that spiked up her body. She grunted and clenched her teeth together.

Never surrender. Never retreat. Honor and patience. Leona repeated in her mind feeling tears burn at the back of her eyes. It was only moments ago she had felt so excited to be here, but now all she wanted to do was go home.

As the second blow came she gasped and when she tried to move away she felt the other instructors grip her in place. She squirmed and fought, wanting to sob and scream. Tears blurred her vision as the pain spread through her body. Her knees threatened to buckle beneath her.

Don't make a sound, Leona told herself as she gritted her teeth, tears streaming down her face.

"Punishment for disobedience is four lashes, no more, no less." The third strike came down with a thick _thwak_. She whimpered wanting to move away again but found it impossible. Her back felt like it was on fire. Tears streamed from her face from the pain.

And as the final strike landed on her back, her toes curled, and her fingers dug deep into her skin forming welts. Leona cringed, wanting to scream and cry. She wanted her mother to come and pick her up and tell her it was going to be okay, like after the fights she lost. But instead she hissed loudly and bit back a sob.

"Good." The captain cut her ropes and handed her off to one of the instructors who helped her stagger into the last row. The boy next to her offered a sympathetic look. She felt the back of her tunic skim the skin on her back and it made her flinch. Her back, felt like it was on fire and everything that touched it stung.

"The Rakkor warriors know no pain, remember that." The captain paused and paced in front of them. Leona sniffled and wiped the tears from her face as the cold began to set in again. It was only a small comfort to her stinging back but it was not a comfort to her. She shivered like the rest of the children. Leona wanted to warm herself but their arms were forced at their sides.

One girl tried to rub her arms but the instructors slapped her hands away.

"I will train you to be the best. But I must have all your co-operation. Now, first thing is first. We need to get your body up to physical standards. Jump squats, fifty! If one person gives up, I'll make everyone do double!"

Everyone was quick to follow but Leona had to muster her strength to follow the instructor's motions. She wasn't half way to fifty when her legs felt too heavy to lift or bend. Her thighs burned and her knees were ready to buckle under her own weight.

"…48 – 49 – 50. Sit ups, next! Fifty!"

Leona had seconds to throw herself onto the floor. A sharp searing pain followed that made her wince but when she moved to get up she saw an instructor stride towards her. Leona fell onto the floor, pushed the pain to the furthest place in her mind and began to follow, hissing.

Legs lifts were next, then lunges, and then jumping jacks. Her body trembled and moved sluggishly as sweat dripped down, stinging the welts that had formed on her back.

She wanted to go home and so did the others. Leona could see it in their faces. Set after set, they wanted to take a break but if they stopped they would be beaten. One boy had refused to do another set and was knocked down and slugged in the gut. He doubled over and then got up to follow the rest of them.

Running was next, led by the captain himself they ran a route, around the camp then around the Rite arena.

Leona could only stumble forward as they looped around the camp and the arena again. Never surrender. Never retreat. Honor and patience, she gasped the words in her mind.

She could feel the saliva turn thick in her mouth, her lungs felt dry and everything felt too heavy to lift. Sweat matted her head and rained down and when it touched her back she felt a steady burning pain that made her want to cry again. She could only imagine the welts and bruises that had formed. She never wanted to go through that again.

When they finally stopped back at where they started, Leona fell onto her knees, gasping for breath, heaving in gulp after gulp of the freezing cold air. A small gust of wind blew past them and it reminded her how cold she really was. She shivered violently.

She heard somebody throw up a small distance away from her as they all wheezed in air into their lungs. Her muscles ached, her back was sore, and she couldn't feel her legs. As she fell onto her back she flinched, grunted and rolled onto her stomach immediately.

The cold snow pressed against her skin and it stung but she couldn't get up. Her body wouldn't let her; rolling over seemed to have drained the last of her energy.

"Let's take a break! Give them water!" The captain shouted over them and by the sound of it, it didn't seem like he had broken into a sweat. But still, she couldn't have heard sweeter words.

She made a lame attempt to warm herself by rubbing her hands on her arms when she felt two strong hands lift her from her into a sitting position. She turned and then felt a warm fur wrap around her body.

"Rub the chest, the arms will warm themselves." The instructor told her and handed her a waterskin. She snatched it immediately from his hands, flicked the cap off and chugged it down. She could feel the water dribbling down her chin as the warmth of the fur engulfed her.

When she was finished she rubbed her chest and looked at the instructor who took the waterskin from her and walked off. She would become like them one day.

Leona stared at his retreating back and wondering if this was what she really wanted to be. She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind again and concentrated on warming up.

She would become stronger. She had to.

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Author's Notes

Hey! I hope you liked reading this installment :) I'm going to try updating every two weeks.

Please review! I'd love to know what you think!

xxSC


	3. Chapter 2

**Rated T for violence! Read at your own discretion!**

 **Guest 1:** Thank you so much! I'm not quite sure if you'll see this but thank you for reviewing :)

 **Chickenchops:** Thank you for reviewing and I hope you'll like this chapter as well!

 **Guest 2:** Curse you Autocorrect! I understand that pain! Thanks for the review! I tried to model their society close to the Ancient Spartans, I hope I managed to catch some of that intensity :)

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

When her father had told her that training would be tough, she had thought she would be able to handle it, but now she was questioning herself. Her whole body ached and when the Captain had told them to rest she'd been more than happy to sit down with her fur. But not five minutes later they were told to form back up to go to for a short march.

She didn't understand why Captain Jagen had said that it was 'short' because it had turned out to be five miles _up_ Mount Targon, or so she'd overheard. She felt as though air was escaping her lungs more than it was entering them.

The climb was steep and though she was grateful of the cloak it weighed her down considerably. Her thighs burned and she could feel the insides of her shoes rub against her blisters from the run. But the further she climbed the more she learned to ignore the pain in her feet and back.

Leona was ready to give up, but she had seen some instructors shoving forward anyone who even hinted at a pause so she kept going through the burn. She didn't exactly like the idea of being pushed around at this height.

However, when she heard distant shouts and saw an outline of a cave she felt her tired body move forward with curiosity and excitement.

Leona tightened her hold on her fur and looked around when they entered. It was much, _much,_ larger than she had ever thought it would be. The cave seemed to stretch on for miles and the ceiling towered over even the largest warrior in the cave.

It was warm, thanks to the torches lining the wall and the large fire pits that were placed at every mile until the cave ended. At the very right of the cave she noticed a rushing stream that reflected the pouring sunlight coming in through a hole in the ceiling.

Multiple weapons racks lined the opposite walls and they held everything from simple daggers to the largest axes, spears and swords.

Leona couldn't help but stare and wonder which weapon she would be using in, maybe, five years' time.

As they moved towards the center of the cave, Leona noticed a ring, encircled by small stones, torches and a roughly etched line. There were already two women inside, wrestling. Leona quickly saw that one was smaller than the other by a considerable amount.

The smaller one had the larger warrior in a hold, and with a quick motion the smaller warrior's knee came up and smashed into the larger warrior's nose and shoved her to the floor.

The large warrior held her face, rolled onto her back and laughed, shaking her head. Leona watched intently as the small warrior pulled the other up. Blood poured over her face, dripping messily over her tunic and the ground. Leona winced.

Why was she laughing? Didn't that hurt? Leona felt unease creep into her gut. She didn't know if she could spar like that and laugh at the end. Not if her friend's nose was bleeding.

"Welcome to this sacred cave. This is where you will be spending the rest of your life, training and sparring if you make it past the Rite." Jagen's voice echoed loudly, catching the attention of the some of the warriors around them. "For now, I will pair you up with an instructor. They will teach you how to fight: hand to hand, and with weapons. And at the very end of the week, you will get into this ring-" he pointed next to him "-and you will fight each other."

"Every day, I will drill you from morning to noon, and then your instructors will take over," Jagen stated and then narrowed his eyes. "I will say this once, disobedience is not an option. You want to run home to your mommy and daddy? Then you might as well leave the tribe and never come back."

Leona gripped her hands into small fists. No matter what happened, she wasn't going to run now. She had been beaten and she wasn't going to just let that go to waste.

Never surrender. Never retreat. She knit her brows down with determination and looked back at the Captain who was still surveying them. When no one moved, he nodded.

"Very well." He paused and then continued. "The instructors you are paired with, you will stay with them at all times after drills. You will eat with them, train with them, and followed them. This is so that you learn our ways from them. Understood?"

"Yes, sir" Their answer echoed off the walls of the cave. Jagen's lips curled into a small smile, but it was soon gone when he started to pair them with instructors, starting from the front. When they were paired off, the instructors quickly took the children away.

Leona, being in the back line, was one of the last to be paired so she could guess who would be her instructor. It was the one she had noticed hours ago: the girl with the loose brown braid. Upon closer inspection, Leona noticed the freckles that spotted her face and a scar that started from her hairline and ended at her eyebrow.

"Astraia, you're with the rebel." She could hear Jagen's mocking tone. Leona frowned but dared not say anything. She wasn't going to be beaten because of a 'smart' answer. But still, she had done nothing to rebel, she didn't deserve the title.

"Yes, Captain," was her instructor's only reply as she walked towards Leona, a small smile on her face. "I guess you're stuck with me. Come on," she said and then started to lead Leona to the far end of the cave. She stopped at the third fire pit.

"I am Astraia, but you may call me Astra if you wish. What is your name, girl?" She asked, motioning to somebody to another end of the cave. She then looked at Leona with a raised brow. "Well?"

"Leona." She answered as confidently as she could. Astra was intimidating, more so than she would have thought. Her dark eyes were almost as dark as the Captain's and she towered over her.

"Leona," she repeated slowly. "I will be your instructor until the Rite. I will be responsible for teaching you how to fight and how to handle weapons. And like Captain Jagen said, once a week you'll step into that ring and you'll fight another one of your peers."

She paused as somebody walked up behind her to hand her something. Astra thanked the person and then turned back to Leona. "Despite what others may say, I say that losing is alright. I want you to learn from your mistakes. Lose too many rounds, however, and I may not be so amiable."

"What does that mean?"

"What does what mean?" Astra arched a brow.

"Amiable."

"Friendly," she curtly answered and then knelt down. "Now, take off your fur and your tunic."

"Here?"

"Yes." Astra motioned to her quickly. "Just do it. I need to see your back. I can't let it fester if you're bleeding."

Leona did as she was told and showed her back to her instructor. There was a pause and then felt a splash of something on her back. She yelped with both surprise and pain. It had been cold and it stung intensely. Astra sighed and told her to be quiet, then continued to rub the liquid into her back.

"It's spirits(1), it will discourage any infection." Astra explained. When she was finished, Astra wrapped her back with clean linen and then handed her a fresh tunic and a small leather belt. Astra took her old clothes and hung them near one of the fire pits. When Leona was finished she motioned to her, standing up.

"Enough of all that, onto your first task: land a strike on my face."

Leona's joints felt stiff and her legs still felt like water. She was sure it would be a lot easier if she had her strength. She commanded her body to move but it only moved slowly; she was clearly tired.

Her instructor was quick to notice. "Push the pain from your mind, and concentrate on hitting this." She gently tapped her face.

The task was easy, Leona told herself as she gathered the very last, remaining strength she had from her break, which seemed like it had happened hours ago.

Leona reeled her fist back and let it snap forward. Astra instantly pushed her fist aside, grabbed her arm, and with her free hand pushed Leona to the ground. When she landed on her back she winced and groaned.

Astra laughed. "Who are you trying to punch like that?" she taunted with a grin. Leona quickly got to her feet and lifted her hands. She furrowed her brow, still feeling the pain from the last throw.

When she threw her next punch Astra was quicker; she moved to the side, hooked her opposite arm around Leona's and threw her to the ground again. Her shoulder was the first thing to make contact with the ground. She moaned and squeezed her eyes shut.

Astra towered over her and laughed. "First lesson: patience. Do you actually think you can strike my face the first time around?" She smirked. Leona felt dumb. Of course, it was like what her father had taught her.

Patience, Leona thought as her jaw tightened, and she grunted sheepishly. She should have known. "Get your head in the game. Look for openings; take advantage of those before going in for the face. Understand?"

"I guess." Leona groaned.

"Not 'I guess' Leona. It's 'yes'. Let's get going now, come on. I'm going to teach you something."

Leona was hesitant which made her instructor chuckle. "Come on, we don't have all day for you to be like this. I'm teaching you a throw."

When Leona walked over Astraia quickly pushed her down. "You can do this much easier than I can because you're small." She moved Leona's arm so that her arms were hooked around a single leg. Leona's head rested on the side of her pelvis.

"Grab on tight. And then step forward and let my weight roll back."

Leona was quick to execute the throw as she landed on top. Astraia nodded, slipping out of the hold. "That's it. Good job; now, do it again."

Leona nodded excitedly and went to loop her arm around her instructor's leg but her instructor had different plans. Astra hooked her wrist around her face and rolled Leona's head up, holding her tightly to her chest.

She could feel Astra's wrist pressing hard against her cheeks. Leona grunted. "You said I needed to do it again!" Leona protested, squirming.

"I didn't say how." Astraia continued to hold her there. Leona grunted and gripped her instructor's arm, trying to push it away. "This was a fight, last time I checked. And I was just teaching you a move. What did I say? Patience. Look for openings and take advantage of that. Now get out of this. How are you going to get out of this position?"

"That was dirty." Leona muttered, jabbing her elbow into her instructor's stomach. Astra grunted but didn't move, so Leona straightened her leg and slammed it down onto her shin. The hold loosened almost instantly.

Astra nodded. "That was a hard one, good. Remember, control and breathe. Don't panic; you can't think when you're busy panicking, understand?"

Leona nodded slowly, catching her breath. There were no breaks with Astra. Once Leona was down, she had to get right back up. It was all go, go, go. Even when Leona wanted to take a break, Astra wouldn't let her.

Push the pain away from your mind, Astra would tell her. When Leona continued to stand immobile, Astra would produce her staff and smack her legs. She had never thrown so many punches that didn't land, or been generally thrown to the ground.

Astra continued to teaching her different techniques before there was a booming voice. Leona barely recognized it as one of the elders of the village.

"Very good!" There was a laugh and Astra looked up, causing Leona to also turn at the source of the sound. From where she stood she could barely see a wrestling match between a boy and his instructor.

The boy rolled, grunted, and pushing himself out of a hold he looked at the instructor for a moment before being slugged in the face. The boy doubled over and then quickly charged forward again. When he was thrown to the floor again the Elder simply laughed.

He patted the boy's shoulder when he got up. "This is how you should fight, recruits!"

Leona didn't see anything special about the boy. He looked like the rest of the other boys. He had short brown hair and brown eyes. If there was one difference she noticed it was that he was slightly bigger.

But that didn't make him special. He was just like the rest of them, so why had the village elder said he was so good? She could wrestle with her instructor. Leona was just as good as that boy.

"I want to see a fire in your eyes when you fight. Intensity!" The elder patted the boy again and pushed him forward to his instructor. "You are the future of the Rakkor; we expect great things from you!"

Leona looked back at Astra who had raised a brow. When she looked back at Leona, Astra had a smirk on her face. "Why didn't you attack me while I was distracted?"

"You were distracted." And Leona was also tired. But she didn't want to admit it.

"So?"

"It's not honorable. Pa said that if I was to fight anyone, it should be fair." Leona told her instructor who crossed her arms. Astra's smirk turned into a laugh as she shook her head.

"It's good your pa has taught you such great morals, but your opponent is going to take advantage of you being distracted. It's you or them. What have I said twice now?" Astra looked at Leona expectantly.

"Find openings and take advantage of them." Leona repeated. Astra smiled and nodded.

"Good, now let's go."

The two began to wrestle. Leona was quick to get low, targeting Astra's legs, but as she charged forward like a bull, Astra caught her head and held it at an arm's length. Leona heard Astra's laugh and frowned.

Leona grunted and gripped Astra's arm. When she found she couldn't possibly push past her she backed up and tried again. She pushed her legs as hard as she could and charged, pushing past Astra's hand and grabbing her leg. She took a step forward, just as her instructor had shown her, but right when it seemed she was going to knock Astra down, Leona felt her instructor fall of her own accord, throwing the technique off balance.

Astra quickly recovered as Leona slipped away from under her instructor. She heard Astra laugh as she got up.

"Good!" she said, standing up. "Very well done. Let's keep this going."

Panting, Leona hissed and tried again, but as she started something caught her eye. When she turned she saw a man adorned with bright yellow armor. His helmet was dark red rimmed with a golden yellow with three golden spikes on each side.

It was different, more decorated and patterned than the Rakkor armor. It looked… it looked absurd. What did he think he was doing her-

Leona never had the chance to complete the thought. She felt Astra's fist plow into the side of her face. And as Leona hit the ground her vision blurred and then blacked out.

* * *

(1) Spirits - Alcoholic drink

Author's Note (It's kind of important this week so please read)

I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I thought it would be best to have a more 'light-hearted' one before going on. Anyway, I'm going away for a week or two so I might not be able to work on the next chapter until I come back :S I hope you'll still stay with me!

Please review, I'd love to know what you think! Critique is always welcomed as long as it's constructive :)

xxSC


	4. Chapter 3

**Rated T for Violence please read at your own discretion**

 **Tenchu11 -** Thank you :) and thank _you for reading!_

 **GarenKat Fangirl -** Thank you for the review! It means a lot! I have my housemate to thank for helping me write this series! I hope you keep reading!

 **OceanBourne** \- Thanks so much for the review! I hope I slightly improved! And please don't feel obligated to review every chapter I write though I do thank you for giving me positive criticism :)

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

"Leona, come on, wake up!" She felt a hand shake her roughly, but this only resulted in her groaning. She was tired, surely a few more seconds of sleep wouldn't hurt, but the voice was insistent.

"Leona!" His voice, this time, was more of a hiss. She groaned again and when she opened her eyes she was met with concerned grey ones, framed by golden strands of hair. She stared at him for a moment, wondering who this boy could be.

She blinked. "Theron?" Leona rubbed her eyes, wincing when she came in contact with the left side of her face where a nasty bruise resided. A slow throbbing pain followed which made her grunt.

"Leona." Her bunkmate pulled her out of bed and looked behind him like he was expecting somebody to whip something at his head. "Matron Dido has her stick with her today," he said and that was all the encouragement Leona needed to get up.

Matron Dido was kind, much kinder than any of the instructors, but she was still strict. She had introduced herself as their mother away from home and she was just that. She dressed their wounds, mainly Leona's, put them to bed and got them ready for the day.

She was an older woman, with wrinkles around her face, but she still had the tenacity of any Rakkor warrior. Her silver hair was usually tied into a knot behind her head and her eyes were sharp enough to pierce even the toughest warrior.

As she made her rounds she gently tapped the staff on her hand and surveyed each of the children. It made most of them squirm.

Theron had double-timed making his bed fearful of being lashed again. He had already been beaten by Matron Dido once for trying to take advantage of her kindness. That mistake had earned him four lashes and judging by the welts on his back, her beatings were much, _much_ , harder than Captain Jagen's.

"Get up, trainees! Captain Jagen is waiting and, I'm telling you, he is not a man you want waiting!" She shouted over the creaking beds and groaning children. She kept walking around, her flowing blue robe gently dragging behind her, until she stopped in front of Leona.

She was done making her bed and was now massaging the left side of her face where she had been struck by none other than her instructor.

"How is your face today, Leona?" Matron asked, her eyes glancing only momentarily at Leona before looking back at all the other children around her. She snapped her fingers at one of them and clicked her tongue at another.

"It hurts a little more today." Leona admitted groggily. Matron quickly gripped her chin, with her free hand, and turned her head to inspect the bruise. Leona winced.

The punch had gotten her two things: one, a lesson in paying attention and two, an enormous bruise to the left of her face. And being that it was the first day of training it was both impressive and incredibly embarrassing to have scored the worst injury. She was lucky nothing was broken.

"You'll be fine," Matron concluded, after a thoughtful glance, and then released her face. After, Matron tapped Leona's waist with her staff which made both Leona and Theron straighten considerably. "How's the back, both of you?"

"F-fine!" Theron stammered, the other children snickered and Matron was quick to quiet them with a single look. She then looked at Leona.

"I'm also fine." Leona answered stiffly. She wasn't weak and she wasn't going to do anything to disprove that like whine about every injury she had or was going to have.

Matron eyed her for a moment and then nodded. "Alright then." And then turning to the children she shooed them out of the warm stone barracks and into the cold.

Leona shivered at the howling winds and clutched her arms as she faced the daunting mountain in front of her. She glanced at Theron, who gulped. When he looked over at her his brows were knotted in the center.

 _I don't think I'm ready today_. His look said and all Leona could do was frown. He couldn't just go back; Matron would just beat him again.

"Breakfast after the climb today," Matron stated, though it sounded like she didn't quite approve of the decision. "Captain Jagen also told me that today's climb has a time constraint. Those who do not get to the top within the time constraint will not be receiving breakfast."

Everyone's head snapped back at Matron who had a wide smile on her face when they quietly groaned. "Don't groan at me like that, if you want to complain go to Captain Jagen."

No one uttered a sound after that. Anyone who complained to Captain was likely to be flung off the mountain – or worse. Leona didn't know what could be worse than that but she was sure Jagen was capable of it.

"You have an hour. I do suggest you get going." Matron crossed her arms and watched as they all began to scramble up the mountain. Leona glanced back at Theron, just behind her as she started to jog up the mountain.

Her legs felt slightly stronger after four days but she could still feel the intense burn in them as she grabbed every rock to propel her up. She glanced every so often to check on Theron who seemed to be falling more and more behind.

"Come on." Leona panted, motioning to him.

"I'm trying!" Theron gasped for air, quickly catching up to her. She didn't know how much time she had wasted waiting for her friend but as they got to the top she made sure Theron was behind her.

When they reached the top Astraia quickly pulled her from the edge and sat her down. Leona had only seconds to shoot her friend a tired look as he gasped for air.

"I thought I would have to eat two shares of breakfast today." Astraia smirked, handing her a bowl of soup and a roll of bread. Leona quickly received her bowl and hissed when her hands touched the bottom of it.

"Careful now, you still need your fingers." Astraia looked pointedly at the sides, where she should have been holding in the first place.

"I can't just jump up here, you know." Leona retorted, taking the plate correctly this time. "It takes longer than five seconds to get up here."

Astraia gave Leona a small challenging look. "Record time is twenty minutes. Maybe you can beat it one day."

Sure, if she had the longest legs in the world then it was a possibility, Leona thought as she dug into her food. No sooner than her first bite she noticed the others children who had not made it to the top in time. Leona paused and stared.

She felt her gut twist as she saw the different instructors dumping food off the mountain or eating it themselves. The children, on their knees, looked absolutely exhausted, their eyes hooded and sweat dripping from their hair.

One of the last children to make it was a girl, who looked significantly younger and smaller than Leona. She was seated on the ground, tears rolling down her face.

Her gut wretched as her instructor poured her bowl of soup out in front of her. The disbelief of how they were being treated was still hitting hard. Each time Leona had seen something different Astraia had reassured her that the instructor knew what they were doing, no matter how cruel it seemed.

Leona gripped her bowl tightly, so much that her fingers paled. And as tired as she was, Leona still got up quickly and walked over to the small girl.

"Want it?"

The girl whipped her head up, a clear glare on her flushed face. Leona's eyes widened. "I don't want your sympathy! I don't want your pity!" the girl hissed, slapping her hand away and turning back to her instructor, who was now turned to Leona.

"If you give her your food, she will never learn," he said, not unkindly, though Leona could still detect a warning in his voice. "Go back now, to Astraia. She's waiting for you."

Leona couldn't quite see what she would learn if the little girl starved. She would be more likely to faint than learn anything at all. But she sheepishly retreated anyway, back to Astraia who was, like he said, waiting for her.

"I knew you would do that." Astraia didn't look at her when she sat down next to her instructor. Leona picked at her food, questions buzzing in her mind. "You must learn quickly that right now you cannot afford to help anyone like that. It could harm them more than it could help."

She couldn't see it. If she didn't eat, how was she going to get through training? How was she going to get through her day? She could wait until lunch but if they did something like this again Leona doubted this small girl would make it in time.

Leona looked at Astraia for guidance but her instructor only quieted her and motioned to her food. "Just eat now, drills are promptly after breakfast."

No matter how she looked at it she couldn't see how this could be right. But she didn't argue; instead she did as she was told and finished her meal, listening to the crying girl sniffle. Leona didn't have time to ponder anymore because as she stood to adjust her tunic she saw Captain Jagen striding towards them.

It was as Astraia had told her. Drills were very promptly after breakfast with only a few minutes of briefing to let them digest.

"If you don't remember what day today is, then it will be a surprise for you. For those who do, I pray your instructors have taught you well enough to get you through the first week. If not, you have nine years to train up."

That was all he said before he started to push them through drills. Captain Jagen was hard on them, pushing their reps from fifty to sixty. Jumping jacks, lunges, leg lifts, squats, jumps, and marching drills seemed to last a whole lifetime.

Leona had thrown up in the middle of the drill, the soup she had drank heaving out in chunks and red soupy liquid from her mouth. The acid seared her throat as it came up but once she was finished she had only a second to wipe her mouth and keep going.

The children groaned around her and some of them even retched but none of them threw up, not like her, anyway.

They were permitted a five minute break when they were done but as Leona knelt down for some rest Jagen was already motioning them up and threatening them with beatings if they didn't listen.

The run. Leona absolutely hated everything about the run. How her feet pushed off the ground, how they would _thud_ heavily back down, how cold hair stung her dry papery throat, she hated everything about it but she had to do it.

They ran around the cave twice, which was around twenty miles, Jagen told them, and Leona hated every minute and every inch of the run.

When they were done they were quickly sent back to their instructors. Leona was gasping for air and clawing for water when Astraia walked towards her easily breathing from the run.

One day, Leona told herself. One day she was going to run this as easily as they did and she would be laughing at the recruits. But today was not that day, she said to herself as she gulped down a skin of water.

"You're going to have to use the washroom like crazy in a few hours."

Leona furrowed her brows and burped loudly. Astraia laughed and so did the other children. It felt nice to have something cold and refreshing in her mouth since the last thing that had been in her mouth was her stomach contents.

Astraia led her inside the cave, and when they neared the middle Leona picked up the pace; she knew where their usual spot was. But Astraia stopped her in front of the ring.

"Whoa there, little rebel, where do you think you're going?"

Leona pointed to their fire pit and raised her brow, "Training."

Astraia's grin could have lit fires. But she didn't say much, she only held Leona in front of her and patted her shoulder. "You're in for a surprise, little rebel."

"It's Leona." She quickly corrected and watched as the other children gathered around. Then it suddenly dawned on her that today was sparring day. She had concentrated so much on the other things that she had almost forgotten.

Her shoulders must have tensed because Astraia patted them again. "You've realized, eh?" She chuckled. Leona fidgeted nervously and pressed her lips together as Captain Jagen took to the center of the ring. He clapped twice for attention and instantly everyone in the room gave it to him.

"Most of you seem to know, but some of you seem _not_ to know-" he pointed a look at Leona, who furrowed her brow and frowned. She, at least, realized what today was. At least give her credit for _that_. "-that today is sparring day. Where I will pair you and somebody else and you will fight in this ring until one of you cannot."

Leona gulped.

That didn't sound great. She remembered the two women sparring the other day and remembered the bloody nose one of them got. Was that enough to make them stop fighting or were they supposed to fight until one of them was knocked unconscious? Both options were rather grim and they both made her flinch. But everyone else seemed to be rather excited and unfazed by Captain Jagen's words.

Jagen continued, "Maybe you will be paired with somebody stronger than you, bigger than you, faster than you, or perhaps smaller than you. The point to all of this is so that you will be trained to be able to win against any kind of opponent in front of you. Understand?"

"Yes, sir!" Leona shouted confidently but as she looked around her confidence quickly waned. She was probably considered one of the smaller children, most of them seemed bigger, if not taller than she was.

Astraia had always told her that her size and speed were advantages in a fight. But if they were as fast as she was, it wouldn't leave her with many options.

"First up!" Leona's ears perked up, her eyes shifting and her fingers fidgeting nervously, hoping her name would not be called. And when it wasn't, she breathed a sigh of relief. The first pair in the ring was two boys, evenly matched in size and height. The fight was a rather fast one as the two lobbed punches at each other until one couldn't get up again.

The second fight was the same but much slower, with more hesitance, and Captain Jagen had to threaten them to move along before he 'beat their asses'.

Leona's parents had told her the word 'asses' meant donkeys so the sentence didn't make much sense to her. They hadn't brought any of their asses with them.

When the third match rolled along Leona was sure she wasn't going to be chosen. Maybe Captain Jagen had let her off the hook for once and stopped picking on her for the day.

"Rebel-"

"It's Leona." She retorted for the umpteenth time to Astraia, but when she looked up at her instructor she became conscious of how deep the voice was. When she looked back at the ring, Jagen was looking at her with a look that held little amusement.

"- and the elder's favourite." He continued as if he hadn't been interrupted in the first place. Astraia quickly pushed her into the ring and when she entered, the boy was already standing there.

"Take too long and I'll beat both of you. We have a long line to go through today, don't waste my time." Jagen grunted, clearly referencing the fight from before which had taken much more than three minutes. After a pause Jagen pulled Leona and the boy closer together.

The boy was the one the village elder had been praising the other day. And even up close there was nothing pronounced about him. He stood just half a head taller than Leona. Brown hair and brown eyes to match, and a slightly split lip from training.

"My two favourite trainees," Jagen's tone was dry, indicating that they were probably anything _but_ his favourite. "The elder favourite and the R _ebel._ " he said, placing more emphasis on her dumb nickname.

"The match-"

Leona felt her gut knot and her heart heavily thud in her chest. Her breathing picked up so much that she wanted to choke when she saw the boy's gripped fists.

"-begins…"

She looked at him and saw his intense eyes glaring into hers. She evened her eyes and felt her jaw tighten. She had fought before, so there was no reason why this fight wouldn't be like the others. The only difference was that she had learned a few new moves to try. She would win; well, she hoped so anyway.

"… _now_!"

* * *

 **Author's Note**

Thank you for reading! I hope this Chapter was worth the wait! I'd love to know what you think!

xxSC


	5. Chapter 4

**Rated T for Violence read at your own discretion**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

There was no pause before this fight. The boy instantly swung at her, and Leona gasped. It had caught her off guard, but not so much that she didn't have the sense to dodge.

She jumped back. Her jaw nervously tightened and she gulped. She could feel her body start shaking.

Leona's mind raced, her heart jetted but her body stayed still, panicked and unsure what to do. This was the first time she had ever had to fight in front of an audience, and it made her nervous. Fear anchored her feet down; she didn't want to be punched.

More importantly, she didn't want to be punched in front of _all these people_. She had never had a bloody nose from a fight before and she had been deemed lucky by her parents, but everything about this fight seemed to assure her that if she walked away there would be blood. The image of the woman in the ring with blood pouring down her face anchored her in place.

He lunged at her and this time she tried to move off to the side, but was too slow. His fist connected with her gut and she doubled over, groaning as she fell to the floor. She could see the other children watching her; this had to be the shortest fight yet, one punch and she was already down.

"Are we done already?" She heard Captain Jagen sneer.

"Breathe!" Astraia shouted behind her. Her teeth were gritted. "Panic is _not_ your friend, Leona. Come on!"

Panic was not her friend, Leona repeated over and over again in her mind but it didn't internalize. Breathe, she told herself next but as he kicked her gut she found it harder and harder to draw any kind of breath.

She winced, and as the boy reeled back to give her another kick she prepared herself the best she could. When his foot connected with her gut, hard, she groaned but grabbed his foot. Her mind reeled for what she could possibly do. She twisted and pulled him off balance and he quickly fell.

Leona took her chance and got up, wheezing for air. When the boy recovered she impulsively charged towards him. She ducked low and launched herself at his waist. Her body shook with adrenaline as she sloppily hooked her arm around his leg.

Leona felt him stagger back and it gave her just enough time to take a few awkward steps forward to topple him over. She crawled away from him, with shaky breaths, ready to straddle him and throw down a few punches, but he was faster.

His leg shot out onto her waist and propelled her out of the ring. Her shaky legs gave way and she tumbled. She saw him walking towards her and Leona commanded her body to move. With a few seconds of delay she sluggishly stood, only to have the boy knock into her.

His hands locked around her waist and he threw her to the ground. Leona felt all the air in her lungs escape at once. He pushed her heavily into the ground in an attempt to get up. She slammed her elbow into his head and he grunted.

"Hold!" Astraia screamed at her. "Hold, get him into a hold!"

Leona's lifted her arms clumsily and just as he was about to stand she hooked her arm around his face and twisted her arm back. His reaction was instant. She felt him thrash like she had when Astraia's wrist pressed onto her cheeks. Leona grunted as he gripped her arm, trying to pry her off.

She wouldn't be able to hold him for long. He was already able to free himself if he could think this one through. It wouldn't be very hard.

Her mind raced, glancing at her instructor whose face was scrunched with worry. How was she to ready herself?

The blow came sooner than she anticipated. One elbow to her gut and Leona released instantly. She groaned, her hands flying to aid her side but when she saw he intended to keep her down on the ground she rolled to the side and got up.

He growled and she steadied herself. How could she win? How did the others win? Punching, they won from punching but she didn't have the strength. Sure, she could land one, but she was sure it wouldn't even hurt him.

"Come on!" Astraia's voice was coloured with frustration. "Leona!"

Leona gripped her hands into tight fists. "Can't hit me?" She taunted rather weakly. Her voice shook. And even she had to admit to herself it was the weakest she had ever sounded in any fight.

"Once I land one on your head you'll be finished." He narrowed his eyes. Leona didn't doubt his words but she needed him to throw a punch. It was a new technique Astraia had taught her but she'd never gotten the hang of.

When he threw the punch she ducked under him and kicked down, under his knee. He went down very quickly and she quickly joined him. When he turned she grabbed his leg, shoved it near her armpit and fumbled for his Achilles tendon. She pushed his leg forward and kept grabbing at his ankle.

She wasn't sure how this worked but Astraia had used something similar to it.

The boy tried to yank back his leg but Leona securely placed it at her side, squeezing his leg. Her eyes flashed back and forth between his face and her hands until he finally groaned through his gritted teeth.

At his reaction she squeezed and pushed his leg further, a more frantic motion than a logical one. She barely heard Jagen telling her to stop until he pulled her off.

"He's done." He told her and motioned for her to stand as he helped the boy stand back up. Her opponent bit down and hissed as he leaned over onto his leg. When he was steady on his feet Captain Jagen walked to her and pushed her towards Astraia.

"Surprisingly, the Rebel wins," He said and turned to her instructor who had a smile on her face. "Be proud, Astraia, I don't think anyone expected that."

Astraia ruffled her hair. As Jagen picked the next pair, Leona tried to calm her body but she couldn't stop herself from shaking.

"I'm rather impressed you tried that foot hold on him." Astraia proudly looked at her and patted her shoulders. "You did really well. I'm proud of you."

Leona looked up at her instructor's wide smile and returned it. She had done well, though she didn't quite feel like she had done well. She had fumbled through everything and was even given a beating at the very beginning.

She could already see the bruises forming.

"See that?" Astraia pointed at the ring at the smaller fighter. She started giving Leona advice, but Leona couldn't hear much over the slight ringing in her ears.

Astraia looked at her and ruffled her hair. "Hey, don't be scared," she said and gave her shoulder a tight squeeze. "You did great, used his bodyweight as a weapon against him."

Leona nodded, panting. Her body was still shaking, adrenaline still pulsing through her veins. Astraia didn't look back at her, instead continued to watch as the other fighters got into the ring.

She vaguely heard her instructor say something that this was a good opportunity to see how other children fought. So Leona watched. As one match after another passed her, Leona managed to notice one thing about most if not all the matches.

They all ended brutally, either with bloody punches or knockdowns. And compared to the other fights, her fight could be classified only as gentle.

Leona didn't know the boy she'd fought, but she still didn't want to smash his teeth in and make him bleed. But by the looks of it the other children didn't seem to share the same sentiment and it made her a little scared. Next week she wouldn't be fighting the boy she had defeated today; it would be another person and who knew what would happen then?

Her mind had no trouble producing the images of her losing with a broken hand or broken nose. She could only gulp.

And the rest of the matches proved to be only a reassurance of her bloody nose next week. Match after match passed her and she stood there, watching and cringing. She had been sure she would have been used to this by now, but apparently not. Different children left the ring, either bloodied or unconscious. Leona felt lucky that she hadn't left like those children and had gotten out in one piece.

When the last match was called she found herself looking at Theron and a girl, a little taller than he was. She saw him press his lips together as she grinned at him. Leona's jaw instantly tightened, watching, hoping that her friend wouldn't be hurt.

As Captain Jagen motioned for the two to begin the fight she saw Theron throw the first punch. It was easily caught and twisted. Her friend hissed and groaned as his opponent gripped his fist and slammed her own into his face.

Leona instantly tensed, her eyes trained on her friend as he slowly got up. It wasn't a fight, it was a beat down. Theron had no way back up when he was on the ground. The taller girl would shove him back down immediately.

Frustration simmered in her stomach. She wanted to do something. She _needed_ to do something but she remembered what the trainer had said to her that morning.

" _If you help her now, she will never learn_."

Her brows knitted down together as she saw Theron finally collapse, but instead of stopping the fight, the girl kept kicking him. Leona gritted her teeth and moved but instantly felt Astraia's hand gripping her shoulder, hard.

Leona looked up and saw Astraia's eyes looking at her coldly. And like the snow outside it made her want to hide. She had never seen her use those eyes on anybody. But still, Theron needed her help and so she looked forward and tried to shrug her instructor's hand away. Astraia's grip hardened to the point where Leona was flinching.

 _No_. She mouthed.

But no one was going to help! He was going to die! She stared ahead at her friend whose eyes fluttered and then finally closed. Jagen pulled the tall girl away and proclaimed her the winner as Theron's instructor hauled him up over his shoulder like a goat and took him away.

Leona could only watch.

"Well, today's matches were… interesting to say the least." Jagen said, dusting his hands. "Some of you did well, some of you, not so much. Good news is that you have time to train up, so get to it." He said and nodded at the instructors.

When Leona turned she found Astraia already kneeling in front of her. She gripped her arm and shook her gently. "You _never_ interrupt a match, Leona. Understand me?" Leona had never heard such a cold voice come from Astraia and she could only nod.

Why? Leona wanted to ask. Theron was going to _die_ , and nobody was going to help him. She couldn't just let that happen.

"Good." She said curtly and then gently pushed her towards the pit. "Well I suppose that was a real eye opener for me. We have some ways to go." Astraia's tone changed back to what it was before, and she stood.

"What are we going to learn today?" Leona asked, feeling tense from what she had just seen and what she had just heard. She was confused and didn't understand why no one shared her sentiment on protecting each other instead of just fighting to the death.

"Punches." Astraia told her and ruffled her hair. "I'm not going to sit by and watch as some stupid boy knocks you down because you don't know how to throw a punch or how to dodge one."

Leona looked at Astraia. Why was Astraia allowed to protect her, but she was not supposed to protect Theron? It made no sense to her, but by then Astraia was already looking back at her intently.

"Are you listening to me?"

Leona chewed on her lip and smiled sheepishly. "No."

Astraia arched a brow and chuckled. "I asked you: did you learn anything from watching those fights?" she asked.

"I'm going to have to get stronger, if I want to keep winning."

Astraia smiled, "Well it's good you have that mindset. Once some trainees win their first fight they think they don't need to improve much."

"Did _you_ learn anything?" Leona asked, referencing her earlier expression that was unexplainable.

"I learned a lot, but we'll talk about that in a few minutes. I need to go get something." Astraia pointed behind her, motioning for her to stay put. Leona knew she was hiding something but she thought it best if she just left it alone for now. It wasn't like Leona could force her instructor to say anything anyway.

Astraia quickly strode off leaving Leona blinking, realizing that she hadn't quite specified on what she was going to get. Maybe it was a weapon, were they starting weapons training? A slow smile slid on her face; she was going to learn weapons!

But Leona's excitement was short lived when she heard someone come up behind her. When she turned she saw the boy, with a slightly split lip, standing behind her.

Leona's hands shot up. Her heart quickened its pace as she took a few steps back. He was out for revenge, he wanted to beat her up for winning and make her pay. He was going to knock her out right now and leave her unconscious.

The boy stared at her with disinterest, and she realized that his hands were hanging lazily by his side. "I don't think we're allowed to do that outside of the ring," he said flatly.

"Wh-what do you want?" Her hands were kept up just in case he wanted to punch her out when she was off guard. Her left side was already bruised; she didn't need the rest of face swelling up as well.

He shrugged and turned towards the fire. "My instructor told me to stand here." He said curtly, crossing his arms. That was when a man walked out from behind with a small pout over his face.

"I told you he's not fun. He's a real stiff." He sighed and motioned to a person behind her and when Leona turned she saw that it was Astraia.

"Well, we tried."

"Tried what?" Leona narrowed down her eyes at her instructor and then at the other. He stood at least a head taller than Astraia and had dark skin. What was most evident, however, was the certain warmth Leona could feel when he smiled at her. It made Astraia's smiles seem more hollow and cold.

"Nothing. So, you must be Leona!" He smiled at her and ruffled her hair. Leona noted the change in subject but decided it was probably not worth knowing. But curiosity gnawed at her. "My name is Kharon."

"Tried what?" Leona asked again. Astraia laughed.

"Astraia talks a lot about you." Kharon smiled, and after that Leona's curiosity about the matter before was trumped.

"She does?"

Astraia answered after with a victorious smile. "Of course. I knew you'd beat up his trainee, or any trainee." It was more to tease Kharon, but the boy in front of her didn't see it that way. He growled, a glare forming on his face.

"I thought we were supposed to go train after sparring." He grunted, his jaw tightening.

Kharon sighed, "All work and no play. Don't worry, we'll get there." He reassured with a chuckle and then turned to Leona. "He's still being a sore loser about what happened earlier. I think you could teach him a move or two."

Leona began to beam when Astraia playfully pushed her. "Your trainee landed some good kicks on her. Don't sell him too short. What's the stiff's name anyway?"

"Pantheon." The boy's tone was acidic. "Don't call me a stiff."

Astraia replied, "This is Leona." Turning to Leona, Astraia motioned her forward. Leona slowly stretched out her hand cautiously.

He had better not twist her arm, Leona thought as he looked at it and then finally shook it with a curt nod. Kharon smiled and sighed with relief.

"Fast friends!" He exclaimed and then motioned to Astraia. "I think Captain Jagen wants some of the children to eat first. Want to come get the food with me?"

Lunch? Already? Leona looked at the two instructors hoping they weren't somehow plotting something else. But Leona wasn't given a lot of time before the two walked off. Astraia only quickly turned to tell her she would be back in a second before she was gone.

An awkward silence was quick to fill the space between Pantheon and Leona. He seemed preoccupied with staring at the fire and Leona didn't know where to look.

"You fought good today." She lamely attempted.

He glanced at her, shrugging again. "So did you."

Leona scratched her arm, not knowing how else to keep the conversation going. Normally, the other person would talk at her. Leona had never had to deal with somebody as quiet as Pantheon.

"I didn't mean what I said back there. I'm sure you could have hit me if you tried, I mean I didn't mean you weren't trying I'm just saying that if you wanted to-"

Pantheon's confused brow was enough to shut her up. "I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Back in the ring." Leona stuck her thumb in the direction of it and continued after a breath. Panic was not her friend. "I'm sure you could knock me out with a punch, especially if you aimed on my left." Leona pointed to the all-too-prominent bruise on her face.

"I know." He smirked, a grin that seemed uncharacteristic of any quiet boy but there it was, on his face. "You're fast, but you're not very strong. That's why your instructor started teaching you throws first."

A competitive spark instantly lit in Leona as she frowned. "What do you mean? I'm plenty strong!"

Pantheon's laugh was like a bark, but it was not meant to be totally unkind. "Your punch would probably tickle me."

"Would not!" Leona retorted, shouting.

"Would too!" Pantheon straightened himself and tried to tower over Leona. Leona stood unfazed and tried to meet his eyes by tip toeing, but he was still taller.

"Wanna bet?"

"I'll beat you up!"

"I'll beat _you_ up! It already happened!"

"Let's go!" Pantheon growled as the two charged at each other, their hands connecting at each other's shoulders. The two pushed, trying to shove the other to the opposite walls.

Leona had to admit, she was having a lot of trouble pushing him back. He had an iron grip on her shoulders and he was pushing her, step by step, backward. She had to win this, prove she was strong as well.

That was when she remembered what Astraia had said about using another's weight as her weapon. Leona quickly bent her knees and used the momentum to throw Pantheon over her. He landed on his back with a hard _thud_.

"I win!" Leona exclaimed, hopping to her feet. Pantheon did the same and shook his head.

"No, I win, because you couldn't push me back!"

He had her there. She frowned and dusted herself off. "Fine." She grunted.

After a pause Pantheon crossed his arms, an uncomfortable expression crossed his face. "You're good. I could help you get stronger if you help me get faster." He quickly added, "It wouldn't be anything big or anything."

Leona looked at him for a moment and after some thought she nodded. It didn't sound too bad to find some help. "Fine, deal."

* * *

 **Author's Note** (important again!)

I hope you like this chapter even though it might be a little longer than usual! Sorry for the delay! I tried to update yesterday, but apparently was down :(

I just wanted to tell you guys that I might delay the next chapters or so because... school is starting and I have to move in and stuff so I might not have time to work on new chapters. Please bear with me! I will get to work on it as fast as possible! Thank you!

Please review and let me know what you think about the chapter!

xxxSC


	6. Chapter 5

**Rated T for Violence, please read at your discretion**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

Leona was staring off into space, quite happily actually, when she felt a hand grip her head and thrust her face down into her food with a _splat_.

Wild laughter followed, easily identifiable as Astraia's. Leona picked her face out and wiped some of the oil from her eyes and knit her brows together as Astraia's boisterous laugh continued.

Her face flushed bright red with embarrassment when she turned to her instructor, clutching a fork in her hand.

"This isn't funny! I'll stab your eyeballs out!" Leona threatened, though it rang empty. She was sure Astraia could beat her in seconds. "Stop it!"

But despite her protests Astraia laughed all the harder, clutching her stomach as she sat down.

"Gotcha!" She exclaimed between fits.

"It's not funny!" Leona cried again, feeling the food and oils of it all clinging to her face. It felt disgusting and even when Astraia handed her a handkerchief, she was snickering like a little girl. Leona snatched it and quickly wiped her face, tossing it back into her instructor's lap.

It was these moments that Leona thought that _she_ should be the instructor and not Astraia. Since three years ago, when she'd first started training, the pranks never did seem to end. Sometimes it would be days before Astraia would jump out at her, other times it would be weeks or months later when she was pushed into the quiet river in the cave.

Astraia had told her that all she was doing was to get her to 'loosen up' but with the Rite in six years, she wished her instructor would be a tad more serious.

Kharon was no help either. The two sometimes conspired against her since, apparently, Pantheon was no fun to scare. The first, formal, prank was when Astraia and Kharon had jumped out to scare her. She had screamed and then promptly stormed off with the two instructors calling after her between violent fits of laughter.

Leona had tried to not react but the more she tried to ignore them the more they would up their tricks. There was no way she could win. Nothing seemed to work.

Her instructor ruffled her hair and Leona roughly shrugged her hand away. "Go away!" Leona whined, exasperated, "It's not funny!"

"Oh, it's plenty funny." Astraia chuckled and nudged her. "You'll see, one day."

Leona had sworn to herself that she would get Astraia back, one day; she just had to think of something. Something clever that she would never see coming, she told herself. But so far all of her ruses had been found out quite early even when she was in the stages of planning it.

Leona picked at the remainder of her food and irritably replied, "Yeah, well. I hope it comes soon." Lately, she had been losing her fights in the ring. Knocked out once, almost broke her arm a second time, and the third time she had to be put into emergency care because the girl had punched her so hard. Astraia was scared she would have died right there on the spot.

She wasn't there to see it, but she heard that Astraia had a 'talk' with her opponent's instructor after. She was told by Kharon that it had been a mess.

Astraia smiled and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "No need to get your feathers all ruffled up. It's just a bit of fun. Don't worry too much."

She took in a deep breath. If there was one thing Leona hated, it was losing. She had imagined that her opponents had left the ring with a smug grin on their faces. She would wipe them off one day, and when that day came she was _not_ going to go easy on them.

Leona's jaw tensed and when she looked at Astraia she was smiling. It wasn't as wide so she knew her instructor wasn't laughing at her anymore. She rubbed Leona's back comfortingly.

"It's been a tough three weeks, I know. But you can't win all of them. You lose sometimes, and it's not so bad, if you learn from your mistakes. Don't worry; we'll get through this losing streak."

"Why does Jagen have to be a prick every time I lose? It's like he _expects_ me to lose!" Leona blurted. "I hate it!"

Astraia chuckled, "He's like that, don't mind him." She paused, looking a little horrified. "Wait, did you say 'prick'? Who taught you that word?"

Leona shrugged and replied, "Heard it. It's not a swear word, Pantheon told me Kharon uses it all the time."

Her instructor's look seemed to darken as she looked at Leona. "You are not to use that word again. I'll have to have a little talk with Kharon and Pantheon." Astraia punched a fist into her hand and then sighed. "I don't want you swearing at the age of ten."

"Why? All the other kids are doing it." Leona crossed her arms rather defiantly.

Astraia raised a brow. "If the other kids decided that one day they were going to jump off Mount Targon, are you going to do that too?" Leona shook her head slowly, and Astraia nodded approvingly. "See? So no swearing until you're _at least_ fifteen."

The rule seemed ridiculous, but she didn't argue.

"I'm going to train with Pantheon for a bit." Leona told her as she finished up the remainder of her dinner. Astraia pressed her lips together and gave her a small frown. Her instructor hadn't been too thrilled when she had found out that Leona was helping another trainee.

But she couldn't argue that she had been slightly improving slightly in the fighting ring. So Astraia let her be.

"Be careful that you don't teach him everything," Astraia warned her as she started in on her food. Leona nodded absently and then darted off.

As Leona skipped towards the entrance of the cave she couldn't help but to notice something on her left. An instructor stood towering over a young trainee yelling something about him being tired of losing constantly. The boy was in tears but it didn't stop the instructor from hitting him.

Leona watched and chewed on her lip as the boy wailed. She stopped, stared for a while. Her stomach twisted like a dishcloth being wrung. It wasn't something she was unfamiliar with but it still bothered her. She had to do something, right?

"Are you coming or not? Why are you so angry?" Pantheon's voice tore her out of her thoughts. She turned to face him, realizing her eyebrows were knit tightly together. He turned and looked where she had been looking and blinked.

Did he see what she saw? Was he horrified as she was? Leona stared at his face, studying him for a moment. But when he looked back at her, his face was unchanged. She couldn't help but feel something like disbelief and disappointment. She should have known that he wouldn't see what was wrong.

"Are we going or not?"

Leona paused, turned away from the wailing boy and left. An action she felt her stomach tighten at as she heard the crying boy shrieking, as he was being beaten like she had been on her first day.

But she followed, drowning the sounds of the boy out of her head. He was doing that for a reason, Leona tried to convince herself. But it was as convincing as telling herself that the dirt around her was made of gold.

She chewed on her lip and followed Pantheon outside into the cold. Three years later her skin had toughened considerably. The whipping snow didn't seem too bad on mild days and standing out in the cold wasn't so bad anymore.

"Theron said he and his instructor have things to do so he won't be coming today." Pantheon said and then asked, "So, what do you want to do today?"

The question didn't seem to make much sense. It was his turn to teach her something today, it didn't matter what she wanted to do. So, Leona shrugged and reflected the question back at him. Pantheon shrugged, bored.

"Kharon didn't really teach me anything new today. We just sparred."

Leona had a grin stretched on her face. "Did he beat you up?"

Pantheon huffed and frowned at the question. His brow knit tightly together when he replied, "What do you think? He's bigger than me, and he's older." He crossed his arms, unknowingly showing her a bruise on his arm, no doubt from his session with his instructor.

It didn't look too good. It was an off green with flecks and splotches of purple and blue. Leona had to imagine what kind of punch gave Pantheon _that_ injury. It was scary to think that one day Pantheon would be able to inflict that kind of damage on her.

"Fine," Leona said lamely and then suggested, "Why don't we spar then?"

Pantheon gave another shrug and then offered a smug, toothy grin. "Don't cry when you get a bloody nose."

Leona stared at him and then rolled her eyes, holding a finger at him. "One time!" she exclaimed, recalling the time she was knocked to the floor. It had been _hard_ and she couldn't help the tears. "It's not going to happen again!"

Her friend snorted. "We'll see about that."

She couldn't really help it when she stomped her foot, something Astraia found absolutely hilarious for no reason. "I'm going to make _you_ cry!"

"We'll _also_ see about that." Pantheon barked a laugh as Leona charged forward at him, swinging.

Pantheon ducked, low, scooping her one leg up. She felt her feet lift from the ground and in a panic she clutched onto him but he threw her onto the ground. Her fingers lost their grip and she felt her back slam into the snow.

Air escaped her lungs all in one breath as she wheezed and hissed. Leona grunted, scrambling to get up but he straddled her chest and lifted his fist. Her mind raced, panic filling her gut. She was unsure what to do, how to do it. All she could think about was the pain that would follow and then then nasty bruise that would inevitably appear.

She moved her head over to dodge the punch, though she still felt his knuckles skimming her. The next punch came faster as it plowed into her face. Leona grunted, hissed and shoved his fist aside and then lifted her forearms to protect her face, like Pantheon had taught her to.

Pain erupted on her arms every time a fist came out and all she could think of how she could move out of this position in a manner that wouldn't get her punched. After a few moments Pantheon stopped.

Panting, he asked her, "Why aren't you moving?"

Leona moved her numbed arms. "That hurt!" She massaged her face and then moved to rub her arms.

Pantheon smirked, "Did you think it wasn't going to?" He looked at his scarred hands and as Leona looked at them she frowned and sat up. They were slightly bruised with small cuts littering over his knuckles. It looked painful and Leona didn't doubt that it was.

"Did Astraia teach you how to get up?"

She had, but Leona had found the move complicated with too many parts to it. It required so much thought, she didn't know how she was going to manage to link her arms, get her foot into position, change arm positions, bridge her opposite leg up and then turn her opponent over. It was too much movement and she couldn't think during fights.

Astraia had reassured her that sooner or later the move would come as second nature but Leona wasn't so sure. She thought for a moment and then slowly moved as Astraia had taught her.

"Like this…" She raised herself, linked her arms around his waist and pulled him down. She bent her right knee, and pointed at it. "Over yours…" She hesitated as she moved her right arm over his shoulder, unsure if this was what she was supposed to do and then bridged up her leg.

"Your other leg come up, slam it down after. And this arm comes up to help turn." Her instruction seemed more like a question but it was correct because, with trouble, she turned him over.

Panthen looked up at her and crossed his arms. "That seems easy enough to do." He sat up and shrugged.

"We'll see how easy it will be once you have fists raining down on your face." Leona retorted with a furrowed brow. Sure, during practice it was easy, but during an actual fight, it wouldn't go so well.

"Just ignore it," he said, shrugging his shoulders as he stood. Leona did the same and as he uncrossed his arms, she crossed hers. "The pain, I mean, not the punch."

Ignore it? She could laugh. Pain was in her face, there was no way she could 'ignore' it. Not when the one swinging the punches was a girl or boy significantly larger than her.

"Easy for you to say." She muttered.

"Doesn't even matter for you, you're fast so you can just dodge," he paused, "most of the time."

Leona scowled. "I'm fast, I'm not _that_ fast." She sighed and then motioned at him. "Let's go again."

The two got into position across from each other again. She took deep breaths; panic was not her friend. Three years and she still had trouble grasping the concept. Pantheon seemed like his head was always level, but she told herself she wasn't jealous.

Pantheon was the first to throw a punch this time. Leona, being as quick as she was, shoved it away from her face, grabbing his arm to drag him onto the ground. He staggered but quickly found his balance. His free hand came back, fisted and swinging.

"So why were you so mad back there?" he asked. The question caught her off guard and she barely had time to skirt back, his knuckle just grazing her chin.

Pantheon turned, with a round house kick. Leona squared her shoulders and dug her feet into the snow. When his leg hit her side she grunted, feeling pain spike into her side. She felt her foot shift but she squeezed her toes tightly and gripped onto his leg.

"What are you talking about?" Her voice was strained, her body still screaming at her in pain. Leona pushed the pain from her mind and yanked him off balance.

He fell and as she went to mount his chest he ripped his leg from her grip and snapped it into her gut. Leona doubled forward, clutching her stomach.

"When I came to get you," he grunted. "You were mad about something."

Was he really talking to her _now_? He never did like talking while they were sparring. Maybe he was trying to distract her; she had to focus. She knit her brow together as he quickly got back onto his feet. She held up her fists and he swung again.

Leona dodged quickly as she slapped his next fist away from her. She didn't answer right away, but after a moment she paused and lowered her fist. Pantheon arched his brow and lowered his as well.

She casually pointed in the direction of the cave. "That kid, his instructor was yelling at him," Leona told him, unsure if he would agree with her about the situation. Maybe he was as bothered as she was but was scared of saying something, or he was just ignoring on purpose because it was bothering him too-

"So?"

The statement caught her off guard and it made her stomach drop. But at the same time, she hadn't really expected any less from Pantheon. It still hurt to see her friend so indifferent about the whole situation. The kid was screaming and wailing and Leona could only feel sympathy for him.

She narrowed her eyes and snapped, "What do you mean 'so'?"

A certain look of smugness passed through Pantheon's face as he shrugged. "It just means that the kid is weak; if he's crying _that_ loudly then he's just being a shame to the Rakkor." He smirked and then continued with a laugh, "it's a good thing his instructor is beating him as hard as he is."

Pantheon didn't wait for her response, just threw the next punch at her. Leona grunted, feeling the punch slam into her face. She staggered back and charged forward with a flurry of punches.

He was right, Astraia was right. They had to prepare for the Rite in six years; no one had the time to cry like that because they were going to be pitted against each other. They needed to be at their best. They needed to know how to take pain, they needed to know how to fight, take down, and ultimately kill.

Leona ducked low as her partner charged at her. She launched herself up, hooking her arm around his waist. With all her strength she threw him down onto the ground. Pantheon quickly recovered, too quick for it this time, and swiped his foot on the ground.

"Was that all you were mad about? I thought it was something Kharon might have done again." He laughed lightly.

She tried to get up and found Pantheon kicking her into the floor. Along with the pain she felt the contents of her stomach trying to reach her mouth. She heaved in air and held up her hand to stop Pantheon from his onslaught. She raced over to the side of the cliff and then it all came out.

Instantly, she grabbed her hair out of the way as she gagged a few times. Her body lurched forward feeling her throat sear. The pain of the kick raced through her body each time her stomach tightened to present the ground with a new batch of vomit.

Leona wiped the edges of her lips and then washed her arm and mouth with the snow. She coughed a few times. She was unsure what she wanted to say. "It's all wrong." She mumbled through gritted teeth.

When she turned Pantheon was looking at her expectantly. "Are you alright?" Pantheon slightly leaned in, "I didn't hear you."

Leona couldn't help feeling anger bubbling in her gut. She had to do something, but there was nothing she could do. What was she supposed to do?

Astraia had kept telling her that she had to focus on her own training instead of that of others. But how could she when all she could see was that little girl from three years ago, and that kid from inside the cave. If somebody had beaten Theron or Pantheon like that she would be absolutely furious. She would have stepped in and beaten the living daylights out of them.

But then again, Theron and Pantheon weren't ones to cry when they were in pain.

"Are we still sparing?" Pantheon looked at her with a questioning look. Pantheon was right, the kid was weak and he needed more training. The instructors knew what they were doing, and all she could do was focus on her training. After all, in six years the kid would be dead and none of this would matter.

The thought turned into knots in her stomach. This was all wrong and she could feel it, but why didn't anyone else?

"Focus on your own battles, you'll be fine." Pantheon said like he had somehow read her mind. She knitted her eyebrows together and threw the first punch.

* * *

 **Author's note**

Hello! I'm alive and I apologize for not updating any sooner! School started and then I had work! Whew, it's been a hard month but hopefully I've settled into a good writing/working schedule :)

I'm planning to update once a month, at least? We have to see what happens. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review and like!

xxxSC


	7. Chapter 6

**Rated T for Violence: Read at your own discretion**

 **GarenKat Fangirl:** Thank you so much for taking time to review! :D

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

Leona winced and rubbed her arm when she looked at Pantheon. He looked beaten up, worse than her, she would argue. But she knew he would probably deny it.

She panted and grimaced but she put up her fists despite the stinging pain in her side. Pantheon was trying to teach her how to push pain away, so he said. It wasn't working as great as he was hoping.

"You're not focusing anymore." he said. "You're letting it get to you."

Leona hissed, "Because that really hurt!"

"Try to ignore it."

There was a scowl from her as she rubbed her arm, a nasty bruise already forming. It could join its family when it formed. Leona took in a deep breath and gritted her teeth. It was so hard to ignore when it was everything she could focus on. But she needed to learn, it would help her in her next fight.

"Were it so easy." She mumbled. Pantheon ignored her and motioned for her to prepare for the next spar.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **Astraia**

Astraia was leaned against the walls of the cave and was about the close her eyes when she saw Kharon walking casually towards her. He stopped a few times to greet some of the other trainers and to encourage the trainees, but eventually he was sitting next to her.

"Napping on the trainee, are you?"

"I could really say the same about you." She eyed him and the crossed her arms. "I can't believe you agreed to Pantheon training with Leona." Astria was hardly pleased when she caught them one afternoon when they usually took their break. Leona would often slip away, it was rather suspicious. But there was no denying her improvement so she, very reluctantly, let them be.

Kharon shrugged a little too casually for her liking. "It's not so bad to teach them team work. They're going to have to learn one day anyways. We might as well start early."

"If they don't die first," Astraia said with an arched brow. Kharon was always optimistic about everything and she had to admit it got on her nerves sometimes.

Her friend laughed, "Come on, Leona? Pantheon? They're not going to lose. If we train them right, they're not going to lose."

Astraia rolled her eyes and then looked around the cave where some of the trainers were already begun sparing with their trainees. After lunch too. It wasn't hard to predict that something was going to go wrong; the smell of vomit was going to be inevitable. She scrunched up her nose.

"You could well say that about any one of those kids."

Kharon patted her shoulder. "There's something about Leona and Pantheon, they have a lot of potential." That, she couldn't argue with. "Besides, Pantheon is getting faster. He used to be so… sluggish. It's good to see Leona keeping on his toes."

She frowned. That was really something she would rather _not_ hear. It was good that Leona was learning a few things from Pantheon. It was the only reason why she had turned a blind eye to these extra 'training' sessions.

There was nothing to like about it. It spelled trouble like the vomit that was about to happen in the cave. It was going to be inevitable. What if they get pitted against each other in the weekly fights? Or worse, in the Rite Arena, what then? Leona wasn't here to make friends, she was here to train.

This was all for her good.

"So how is training?" Kharon asked and all Astraia did was make her face fall into her hands as she audibly let her frustration known to the cave around her.

It had been a tough three weeks for her and especially for Leona as well. Losing three battles back to back to back was _hard_ and it affected Leona a lot. She couldn't let this go on, she had to end the losing streak and she had to end it fast.

"Difficult?" Kharon supplied the word but all she did was groan again. Her friend laughed and she moved her hands from her face to her temples, massaging them gently.

There was nothing more she wanted than to see Leona win and break out of this streak. "We're going to win the next one. She's going to come back." Astraia said, though her words felt like they were more convincing to herself than anyone else. She believed in Leona but it was hard _not_ to worry about her and who Jagen had chosen for her to fight next.

"How's the stiff?" She stood, opting to fetch some water to drink. She needed to get up, walk around and forget about the damn fight which was taking place day after tomorrow.

Kharon nodded approvingly. "He's doing alright. He's lost a few as well but he's always come back swinging harder. Don't worry, Leona will win the next one."

She wished she was as sure as he was.

"But boy can he punch. He gave me this the other day." She looked over at him as he lifted his arm to point to a certain purple bruise with pride. "It was a good hit."

Astraia stopped, arched her eyebrows and then turned her leg to show him a large scrape on her calf. "Leona." She pointed.

"Oh, well look at this one." Kharon lifted his opposite arm and pushed down the shirt and showed her another bruise, this one larger than the first one he showed her. "From a throw you taught Leona."

Astraia quickly pulled down the collar of her shirt to show off another injury. "From a punch that you taught the stiff."

"Well if you-"

"Are you serious?"

The two straightened up considerably when they heard Dido. The woman had an arched brow and her arms were crossed. She still looked amused, however. Astraia knew the Matron long enough to decipher her tells, though she would argue that she had none.

"Matron," they both greeted with a small bow. Dido returned the gesture and turned to Astraia.

"How's training? And I don't mean for Leona. I mean _you_."

Astraia shrugged at her previous instructor. "Skills are still sharp. I haven't gone on a hunting party in a while, but I've still be sparing and practicing."

Kharon snorted and laughed, "On other trainers, mind you. She's rather protective of Leona."

Dido smiled and Astraia looked on proudly. There was nothing to be ashamed of. If anybody was to punish Leona it should be her, and no one else. If other trainers disciplined Leona then she wouldn't be needed. And besides when she trained with Dido, she was just as protective if not more.

"So why are you up here?" Kharon asked and then quickly added, "With all due respect. Aren't you supposed to be down the mountain taking care of the injured?"

It was strange to see Dido up here, in the cave. Since she had gotten a little older she tried not to come up as often. She never liked having people assist her up the mountain, but that was Astraia's theory.

Dido waved the question away and huffed, "it's boring down there. No one's gotten too seriously hurt. The only one down there is the boy with a broken arm and he's sleeping so I have more than a little free time to burn," she told them.

Astraia stifled a laugh. Ever since Dido had started training to become an herbalist and a healer, she did her best to make her patients sleep – though the last thing any Rakkor patient wanted to do was sleep Training always came first and that always resulted in ripped stitches, re-broken bones and all around more work for the Matron. So Dido always put a little something in their drinks to _make_ them sleep.

Dido shot her a look that made Astraia shut up pretty quickly. "Have you seen Solari warriors around? They came over to my healer's cabin to see if I came across any patients that had visions. I told Jagen about it but he said they knew nothing of why they kept coming down the mountain."

She paused and then added with a furrowed brow, "They're so damn annoying."

The Solari coming down was not uncommon, what was uncommon was the frequency of these visits. They usually came down a few times during the year but Astraia had at least seen them, no less than, at least five times this past month.

"What are they doing?" Astraia asked, scanning the cave to see if there was a Solari warrior walking in the cave. But there was nothing. Leona had seen one a few years ago, it distracted her and Astraia had punched her in the face, both by accident and on purpose.

She had taught Leona not to get too distracted, it was a perfect lesson. Though, she hadn't meant to totally knock her out.

"Looking for somebody, I think." Dido answered. "But they don't know who but they say that the Sun is calling to somebody down the mountain."

Kharon wiggled his fingers out in front of him. "Spooky." Dido quickly slapped his fingers down.

"It's suspicious I'll give you that much. Anyway, I don't believe in that kind of stuff but on the off chance that they might be, looking for somebody that is. Have you heard of any talks of trainers of trainees having bad dreams? Hearing voice?" she asked rather wearily.

The two trainers exchanged glances. "No, no one. Not even the trainees have said anything. To my knowledge everything is normal," Astraia said.

Dido thought carefully and then waved them off. "Alright, well off you-"

"How dare you?" The voice echoed loudly around the cave and it made people pause their work to look. Astraia looked over and it only took a glimpse for her to recognize Leona's red hair. A man stood over her, his fist backed up, ready to punch.

Astraia's brows knitted together and ran over as fast as she could. She could see Pantheon slightly panicking at the side, his feet anchored to the ground.

"Hey!" she shouted but the trainer didn't stop and she wasn't fast enough. His fist came down, hard, onto Leona's face. The small girl grunted, skidded a few paces before she fell onto the ground, immobile.

"Hey!" Her voice reverberated through the cave. The trainer strode over and raised his leg this time, and this time Astraia was there. She shoved the man away and as he staggered back she caught his arm, pulling him forward. The man stumbled and Astraia took the chance to reel her fist back and snap it forward into the man's face.

He grunted but recovered quickly. "What the hell, Astraia?" he snapped.

"She is my responsibility, I will punish her as I see fit." Astraia hissed. "You don't get that privilege. If you lay a hand on her again, I'll break your face."

"Then you get her under control, or somebody else will." He snarled, wiping some blood from his face before shoving his own trainee away from the fight. Astraia watched his retreating back for a moment and then picked up Leona from the ground.

Pantheon rushed over, trying to get a clear look at Leona but Astraia only narrowed down her eyes at him.

"Is she alright?" he asked, a little panicked. When she didn't answer the boy trailed close behind her, concern clear on his face.

"Astraia?" Pantheon looked intently at her.

"She'll be fine." Astraia answered shortly as they approached their usual training spot. Dido would have seen what had happened. And as if on cue, the Matron appeared in her peripherals and motioned to place her onto the ground. Kharon quickly joined them pulling Pantheon aside, but at the same time hovering over Leona as Astraia placed her onto the ground.

"What happened?" Kharon asked. She had no idea what had happened she had just turned and saw that trainer punching her. Leona was not one to start fights she was more likely to…

"She saw a boy getting his ass handed to him and she ran over to stop it, I tried to stop her but she didn't listen." Pantheon grunted, and looked at Astraia his brow furrowed slightly. "I didn't think he would hit her."

"No. Of course you didn't." Her tone was acidic as she shot him a glare. Pantheon gripped his fists tightly together, looking back at Dido treating Leona.

"C'mon Astra. That's unfair. You can't blame him for something he didn't expect." Kharon interjected, defensively.

Astraia's jaw tightened. She never quite liked the idea of Leona training with Pantheon to begin with because she was scared Leona would do something like this. She had been dancing around the action of defending some useless helpless boy or girl and the only person that had been there to stop it was her.

After a short silence she finally managed, "Don't swear." she said and pointed at the boy and narrowed her eyes at Kharon, "Doubly so for you. I don't want Leona picking up your piss poor habits from the stiff."

"My name is Pantheon," the stiff growled.

Kharon's ready smile was back on his face as he pointed to himself and barked a laugh. " _My_ habits are 'piss poor'? If anybody's habits are 'piss poor' it's yours."

She snarled her response and let Kharon chuckle. Her eyes turned back to Leona who was still laying there. Her fingers went to her forehead directly, rubbing her temples in soft circles.

"So, what are you going to do about Leona?" Kharon asked her.

Astraia took in a deep breath. She didn't like this part of being a trainer. She didn't like watching beating and she, sure as hell, hated to be the _being_ beaten. But she, herself, wouldn't have learned a damn thing if Dido hadn't beaten half of them into her.

"What do you think I'm going to do?" Astraia glowered and took in another heavy breath. She paced a few times and her eyes flickered from Dido to the young girl. She was familiar with the times Leona wanted to stop fights or she when felt too much sympathy for the other trainees.

It all boiled down to the point that Leona was too kind. The Rakkor hadn't survived this long because of kindness. Their tribe was carved from Mount Targon. They were shaped from the bitter cold, the lack of resources. They had no time for the weak. They couldn't support liabilities and it was time for Leona to learn this lesson. She had to learn that if she kept this up she could very well destroy her peers and her village.

Dido stood, bringing Astraia out of her thoughts. "How is she?" Astraia looked at Leona.

"She's tough, nothing serious. Maybe some swelling but that will go away if we ice it."

Leona groaned and slowly opened her eyes. Astraia looked at Kharon and motioned for him to leave. Her friend eyed her and then nodded, motioning Pantheon to follow. Pantheon didn't move, for a moment he stood, just staring at Leona.

"Are you going to beat her?"

"What do you think?" she asked bitterly and then turned to Leona. "Get up," she ordered and she the trainee moved too slow Astraia hauled her up by the forearm.

"That hurts!" Leona groaned again and pressed her hands onto her face. Astaia looked at Matron whose eyes were steeled. Leona would need to be seen by Dido after so it was convenient that she was here.

"Let's go." She gripped onto Leona's arm and practically dragged her to the post. Matron Dido followed closely behind.

"My face feels like it's going to split. Where are we going?"

"It's time you learnt a lesson, Leona."

"What lesson is that?"

Astraia stopped abruptly and looked at her coldly, frustration bubbling in her stomach. "You are _not_ to intervene in a fight no matter what. Do you understand?"

"But he was going to die!" she protested. "I can't-"

"Why does that matter so much to you?" Astraia practically shouted. Leona winced. "In a few years he could be dead and the only thing you would have done for him is secure his death. You need to focus on your own training."

"I thought he was going to-"

"I know what you thought, _trainee_. If I ever see you helping another trainee again, so help me, I will make sure you don't feel your ass for a week." she hissed and then continued to pull Leona to the post. When they arrived, Astraia could feel her slightly squirming. Leona had been beaten a few times, by Dido, by Jagen and even by her. She knew the drill.

Astraia tightly tied Leona to the post. "Five lashes."

Since Leona had started training with her, the small girl always took pity on those who was smaller than her. For those who were weaker than her, but it was going to cost the tribe good warriors. And with their lack of resources, this was something they could not risk.

She slowly paced around the post. "Do you know why you're being beaten, Leona?"

"I helped the boy." Leona answered slowly.

"Helped him do what?" Astraia pressed, holding the lashing stick in her hand. She tapped it against her hand. She still remembered when Dido used to beat her for not doing well in the fights. If Dido saw how she was training Leona, she would say that she was being too easy on her.

"Helped him fight his battle."

"And why is that bad?"

"Because he is never going to learn how to defend himself." Leona answered after a small pause. Astraia nodded and then raised her hand for the first strike.

* * *

Author's Note

I thought it would be interesting to write in a new point of view :) I thought you enjoyed reading! Sorry for such a late update, Exams and papers are killer! Anyways, Happy Winter Holidays! I hope it is restful and amazing!

With love and Happy Holidays!

xxxSC


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